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Catherine Corbishley

Cathy began her interest in Cyanotype printing (Blueprint) on Fabric after seeing work by the quilter Dorothy Stapleton. After attending a course with Ruth Brown of Stone Creek Silks, she extended her technique to include photographic printing with digital negatives. From 2009 - 2016 she worked on a series of large quilted wallhangings based on the Hurley Endurance Photographs, taken in 1914-16 during Sir Ernest Shackleton's near disastrous voyage to the Weddell sea, and his escape from the Antarctic ice after his ship sank.

The Endurance Quilts won Best Large Wallhanging, Best Art Quilt and Runner up Best in Show at the National Quilt Championships at Sandown in 2012. She has undertaken Endurance and Shackleton quilt commissions for the South Georgia Museum in the South Atlantic and the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, and for the second and third 'Yorkshire Ones in Antarctica' exhibitions at the Hull Maritime Museum in 2015 and at the Bridlington Spa in 2016.

In 2014 she completed a series of quilts based on the Terra Nova expedition of Robert Falcon Scott to the South Pole using photographs by Herbert Ponting, which were exhibited at Sandown 2014 and then travelled to America with the World Quilt Competition as part of the UK entry. The third quilt in the series 'Uncle Bill' featuring Dr Edward Wilson, was exhibited at the National Quilt Championships in Sandown in June 2015. The quilts will be shown as a group for the first time as part of the Dr Edward Wilson Exhibition at St George's Hospital in November 2017. She has also recently been commissioned to make an Edward Wilson themed work for the Wilson Museum and Art Gallery in Cheltenham and a Captain Cook/Exploration piece for the Quilters' Guild Collection.

She recently exhibited a new series of quilts and wallhangings for the fourth Yorkshire Ones exhibition at Hull Maritime museum in March and April 2017 on the themes of Three Ships from Hull, Captain Cook, South Georgia, Whaling and Exploration. These quilts will be exhibited from February 17th-April 22nd 2018 in the Ferens Art gallery, Hull, and related pieces and other new work will be exhibited at Bridlington Spa Gallery from 17th March to 19th April 2018.

Her current project is based on the human and animal locomotion images of Eadweard Muybridge. The first textile in this series is on show at Kingston on Thames museum until mid January 2019 and further work on this theme will be on show from May-July 2018.

Cathy is based in London and lectures regularly to Quilters, Textile and Embroidery groups as well as Photography associations, U3As and the WI. Her talks include both the history of the Cyanotype/Blueprint technique, which dates back to the mid 19th century, and the inspiration behind the Antarctic quilt series. All proceeds from her lectures are donated to the South Georgia Heritage Trust and/or the Jubilee Sailing Trust.

Her work has been featured in a number of magazines including Fabrications, Popular Patchwork. The books, 'Cyanotypes on Textiles' and 'Digital Imagery on Fabric', both by Ruth Brown, and Linda Seward‚Äôs book ‚ÄòThe Ultimate Guide to Art Quilting‚Äô also use illustrations of her work. She presented a paper on the 'History of Blueprinting and Cyanotype on Textiles' at the British Quilt Study Group Seminar in Manchester in October 2015 which was published in Quilt Studies in May 2016.

Although she is now retired from the medical profession she is still active in cancer research.

Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, East Yorkshire. 17th February - 22nd April 2018. Three Ships from Hull Quilts will be exhibited as part of the Ferens Open Art Exhibition

Bridlington Spa Gallery, East Yorkshire. 17th March- 19th April 2018. Exhibition with the 'Yorkshire Ones' Multimedia and Textile group about Exploration. Work will include a new piece in the Three Ships from Hull series and other pieces.

Kingston on Thames Museum and Art Gallery 4th May -5th July 2018 Six small pieces as part of 'My Muybridge' exhibition and Muybridge in Motion large wallhanging in Foyer.

The Quilters' Guild is registered in England and Wales as a charity, no. 1067361 and a company limited by guarantee, no. 344731.
The Guild is registered as a charity in Scotland no. SC043174. Registered office: St. Anthony’s Hall, Peasholme Green, York, YO1 7PW.